When a company is considering a partnership with an influencer, the first question is almost always how many followers the profile has.
It’s a valid question, but the answer is only half the story: it tells us how many people could potentially see the content, but it doesn’t say how many will find it credible.
A profile with 1.7 million followers and a micro-account with 8,000 followers serve two different purposes and have different goals.
The first brings fame; the second brings recognition within a community that knows him personally.
Below you’ll find the five levels, what each one can do, and the metrics used to measure them, so you can make your choice based on your own criteria.
Deciding to collaborate with an influencer often involves two steps: you look for the person with the largest audience in the industry, and then you request a quote.
The content is published, racks up views, and after a few weeks, the question remains: what did it really accomplish?
The starting point is different. A profile serves one purpose at a time: introducing a brand to those who have never encountered it is one thing; convincing those who are already considering it is another; filling a venue on a Saturday night is a third.
Each of these results has a specific profile level that best suits it, as well as its own indicators to determine whether it has been achieved.
Even when the goal remains implicit, the campaign still generates results. These are results that no one knows how to interpret, because there was no benchmark established before the campaign began.
That is why many companies view influencer marketing as an expense rather than an investment: there were results, but they weren’t measurable.
We work with companies that already have a solid product or service and want to connect it with the right people, with a longer-term perspective than a single campaign.
FARO is the approach we take to every project. When applied to an influencer campaign, it brings together two elements that are usually kept separate: the selection of influencers and the measurement of their output.
Start with the goal, not the number of followers.
Reaching a broad audience requires macro or mega profiles. Social proof and local conversion yield better results with nano and micro profiles, which have small communities and direct relationships.
The level is chosen after defining the expected outcome and the metric used to measure it.
Each card links to a page where you can find out what that activity involves, how much time it takes, and how it’s measured.
Content posted by a profile loses its momentum within a few days.
With the usage rights agreed upon at the outset, that same content continues to deliver results for months: as creative material in advertising—where it almost always outperforms studio-produced material—and as content on your website.
It’s the part of the job that turns a one-time expense into a wealth of content.
The levels are distinguished by the size of the community and, above all, by the type of relationship they have with it.
The smaller the community, the more personal the relationship and the greater the impact of the recommendation, as the case of nano-influencers shows; the larger the community, the more the message reaches people the brand doesn’t yet know.
No single level is the absolute best—it depends on which one best suits your goal.
A very small community, consisting almost entirely of people the profile knows. It works when credible social proof is needed in a neighborhood, a town, or a niche. Many profiles, plenty of content, and low cost per piece of content.
A small, niche community focused on a specific topic. This is the level with the best balance between interest shown and attention received, and the one that yields the highest returns in terms of conversions and trials.
A medium-sized community that effectively balances reach and engagement. This is often the level chosen for a product launch, when the goal is to reach a new audience without losing credibility.
A broad community and a recognizable presence in its industry. It builds brand awareness and associates the brand with a specific world. It requires carefully curated content and longer production times.
A very large community, with over a million people. This is useful when the goal is to gain national recognition or join a public conversation. We manage profiles of this size, with up to 1.7 million followers.
During our first meeting, we’ll work together to outline these four elements and provide you with a realistic minimum target for the result you have in mind, along with a timeframe for when you can expect to see the first signs of progress.
Using metrics agreed upon before the campaign began. Reach and impressions show how many people saw the content; saves, comments, and shares show how many reacted; and dedicated codes, tracked links, and brand searches show how many took action.
Each profile level yields different results across these three categories, so the comparison is made under the same conditions.
The financial commitment for an influencer campaign consists of two parts:
Both depend on the choices we make together.
The first measurable results regarding content will be available within a few weeks; the effects on brand awareness and brand searches will take a few months. We’ll define the scope during a meeting, then put in writing exactly what it includes.
The method remains the same; what changes are the questions people ask, the channels they use, and the timing of their decisions. These are the four areas where we have the most expertise.
It depends on the objective. A social proof campaign in a specific area works well with many small profiles—ten or fifteen; a launch aimed at building brand awareness can focus on two or three broad profiles. The number is determined after establishing the expected outcome.
We look at the growth curve over time, the geographic origin of followers, the ratio of views to interactions, the quality of comments, and previous collaborations. A profile with stop-and-start growth or with an audience concentrated in countries far from your market is excluded.
Compensation and payment terms, number and format of content pieces, publication schedule, planned revisions, usage rights (including duration and distribution channels), any industry exclusivity, and transparency requirements regarding the promotional nature of the content.
The profile is created based on a brief we agree upon. The voice must remain their own, because that’s the voice their community trusts. The company provides the message, the key points, and what to avoid.
Reach and views by profile, unique interactions by type, traffic generated via tracked links, trends in brand searches over the period, cost per result, and a comparison of the profiles involved.
It involves sending a product to a large group of people without an agreed-upon compensation, in exchange for the possibility that they will talk about it. It’s worthwhile when the product is desirable and the volume justifies the uncertainty. It complements partnerships rather than replacing them.
Timeframes and risks vary. Selecting and vetting candidates is the time-consuming part; negotiating agreements and ensuring compliance is the delicate part. A company that handles this in-house learns as it goes with its first project; by outsourcing it, someone else navigates that learning curve.
Content metrics become available within a few days of publication. The effects on traffic and conversions become apparent over the course of a few weeks. Brand awareness and brand searches take months to develop and are evaluated by comparing them to the previous period.
A meeting helps you figure out what you want to achieve and in what timeframe. From there, we determine the profile levels, the amount of content, and the metrics to track.
Factory Communication works with companies and SMEs throughout Italy, with offices in Milan and Crema.
